Wesley Blake

Wesley Blake
Blake in April 2018
Birth name Cory James Weston
Born (1987-09-04) September 4, 1987
San Marcos, Texas, United States[1]
Alma mater Texas State University
Spouse(s)
Sara Lee (m. 2017)
Children 1
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Blake
Cory Weston[2]
Wesley Blake[3][4]
Billed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[4]
Billed weight 240 lb (110 kg)[4]
Billed from San Antonio, Texas[4]
Trained by Dory Funk Jr.[2][5]
Debut 2011

Cory James Weston[6] (born September 4, 1987) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he perfoms on the NXT Brand under the ring name Wesley Blake.

Professional wrestling career

Funking Conservatory (2011–2013)

Weston wanted to be a wrestler since the age of 3.[1] He eventually became a student of Dory Funk Jr.'s wrestling school, the Funking Conservatory,[1] appearing on the school's !Bang! TV show under his real name of Cory Weston.[2] Immediately after graduating from university, Weston moved to Ocala, Florida in 2011, where the Funking Conservatory was located.[1] Documented to have been wrestling there since May 2011,[7][8] Weston managed to become the Funking Conservatory World Champion,[9] as well as the European Champion and the Florida Heavyweight Champion.[7][10] Weston wrestled against Jerry Lawler in an eight-person tag team match in May 2013, which was Lawler's first match since suffering a heart attack in September 2012.[11][12]

WWE (2013–present)

Weston signed with WWE in June 2013[13] and reported to NXT in July 2013 when the WWE Performance Center opened; at the same time as his future NXT tag team partner Buddy Murphy.[14] Weston made his television debut as Wesley Blake on the January 22, 2014 episode of NXT with the character of a cowboy and lost his debut match to Adrian Neville.[15][16] Blake continued in his jobber role with losses in singles matches to the likes of Adam Rose, Mason Ryan and Sin Cara, as well as a loss in a tag-team match against the Ascension with Cal Bishop as his partner.[17][18][19][20]

In August 2014, Blake abandoned the cowboy character and formed a tag team with Buddy Murphy. On the August 14 episode of NXT, Blake and Murphy were defeated in the first round of a number one contender tag team tournament by Kalisto and Sin Cara,[21] later known as The Lucha Dragons. For the rest of 2014, Blake and Murphy lost multiple matches to teams such as the Lucha Dragons and the Vaudevillains (Aiden English and Simon Gotch).[22][23][24][25] Also in October 2014, Blake and Murphy were involved in a tag-team battle royal to determine the number one contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship; they were eliminated from the match by the Ascension.[26]

Blake and Murphy defeated the Vaudevillains on the January 21, 2015 episode of NXT[27][28] and a week later defeated the Lucha Dragons to win the NXT Tag Team Championship.[29][30]

At NXT TakeOver: Rival, Blake and Murphy, now billed simply by their last names, defeated the Lucha Dragons in a rematch for the title.[31] Following that, Blake and Murphy started a feud with Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady, who were intent on capturing the tag titles.[3] At NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable, their NXT Tag Team Championship match, Alexa Bliss came out mid-match and attacked Carmella and Enzo, ensuring the win for Blake and Murphy.[32] After several successful title defenses, Blake and Murphy lost the championships to the Vaudevillians at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn, ending their reign at 219 days.[33]

On the May 18, 2016 episode of NXT, after losing to Shinsuke Nakamura and Austin Aries, Alexa and Blake walked away from Murphy, teasing a split for the team. Following Alexa Bliss's main roster call-up in the 2016 WWE draft, Blake was used sporadically on NXT television as an enhancement talent, with his final televised appearance being a match against Murphy on the October 12 episode of NXT, which quickly ended in a no-contest as both men were attacked by an interfering Samoa Joe.[34]

Blake (right) with Steve Cutler

After a long absence from television, Blake returned on the May 10, 2017 episode of NXT, confronting Drew McIntyre in a backstage segment. On the May 24, 2017 episode of NXT, returning to his previous cowboy gimmick, Blake lost in a match against Drew McIntyre.[35] He was then absent from television for the remainder of 2017, forming a tag team with Steve Cutler at NXT live events as The Forgotten Sons.

On the August 29, 2018 episode of NXT, Blake returned to TV along with Steve Cutler and Jaxson Ryker being interrogated by William Regal about the attacker of Aleister Black. The next week, the Forgotten Sons defeated the Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford).

Other media

Blake made his video game debut in WWE 2K16 as a downloadable character and also appears in WWE 2K17.[36][37] His name is shortened to Blake in both games.[36]

Personal life

Weston hails from San Marcos, Texas.[1] He and his younger sister were brought up by their single mother.[14] He graduated from Texas State University,[38] There, he was a strength instructor and also played college football.[1] Weston also played football at the all-state high school level,[1] including for the Medina Valley Panthers in 2005,[39] where he played as the middle linebacker.[40]

Weston is in a relationship with former WWE developmental wrestler, Sara Lee. On May 1, 2017, their first child, a daughter that they named Piper was born.[41] On December 30, 2017, Weston and Lee got married.

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mooneyham, Mike. "Past meets future at wrestling's Funking Conservatory". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Dory Funk Jr. "!BANG! TV Super H-Q Features Dory Funk's Friend and Blue Chipper Cory "Wild" Weston". Archived from the original on January 18, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Owens runs through Riley". Canoe.ca. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Wesley Blake Bio". WWE. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ http://www.postandcourier.com/staff/mike_mooneyham/past-meets-future-at-wrestling-s-funking-conservatory/article_cc2120a0-3576-5835-89d8-a0120a4fb379.html
  6. ↑ NXT Star Wesley Blake Refuses to Take Breath Test After DUI Arrest. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 Johnson, Mike. "!Bang! TV results". pwinsiderxtra.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Sun. Update: Big shows today, Hardy digging himself deeper, Flair not going to jail, Marquardt". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "A Night of Comedy with Mick Foley on 7/12 in Ocala, FL". wrestleview.com. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Johnson, Mike (October 10, 2011). "!Bang! TV update". pwinsiderxtra.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Show Results - 5/25 Jerry Lawler return match in Ocala, Fla.: Details on Lawler's first match since heart attack, Lawler comments on the match, full results from Bang TV taping". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  12. ↑ Chhibber, Ranjan. "Lawler returns to the ring". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  13. ↑ Martin, Adam. "WWE back in Canada for TV tapings, Lawler's in-ring return". wrestleview.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  14. 1 2 Saxton, Byron. "Blake and Murphy's improbable dream". WWE. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
  15. ↑ Johnson, Mike (January 24, 2014). "WWE NXT: What Worked, What Didn't & What We Learned". PWInsider.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ Witner, Emerson. "WWE TV Report: watch NXT Champion Bo Dallas vs. Adrian Neville, Antonio Cesaro". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  17. ↑ Witner, Emerson. "WWE NXT TV Report: Adrian Neville battles Brodus Clay, Great Khali runs wild!". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  18. ↑ Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Zayn returns to battle a disgruntled Graves". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  19. ↑ Witner, Emerson. "WWE NXT TV Report: Bo Dallas' Road To NXTmania begins". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ Witner, Emerson. "WWE NXT TV Report: Adrian Neville/Sami Zayn vs. Tyson Kidd/Justin Gabriel". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  21. ↑ James, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 8/14 Week 111: Neville defends NXT Title vs. Breeze, tournament continues, #1 contender to Women's Title; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  22. ↑ Asher, Matthew. "NXT: Badda-Bing! Realist chick in the ring Carmella makes her debut". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  23. ↑ Justin, Justin. "James's WWE NXT report 10/23: Neville defends NXT Title against Titus O'Neil, Tyler Breeze, Ascension, more; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  24. ↑ Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Neville gives Zayn another big loss". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  25. ↑ Howell, Nolan. "NXT: Zayn and Neville face-to-face". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  26. ↑ Namako, Jason. "WWE NXT Results - 10/30/14 (O'Neil VS. Zayn II)". wrestleview.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  27. ↑ Witner, Emerson. "WWE NXT TV Report: Adrian Neville vs. Tyson Kidd, Blake/Murphy vs. Lucha Dragons,". f4wonline.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  28. ↑ Howell, Nolan. "NXT: NXT Championship contender tourney kicks off". Canoe.ca. Slam Wrestling. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  29. 1 2 "NXT News: Next live special announced, full spoiler results from Thursday's NXT TV tapings". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  30. ↑ James, Justin. "WWE NXT Report 1/28 - Week 137: Zayn-Owens contract signing for "Takeover," #1 contender tourney continues, Emma returns, Charlotte in tag action; Overall Reax". PWTorch.com. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  31. ↑ Meltzer, Dave. "WWE NXT Takeover Rival results & recap: Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens, Finn Balor vs. Adrian Neville". f4wonline.com. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  32. ↑ Trionfo, Richard (May 20, 2015). "LIVE ONGOING WWE NXT TAKEOVER UNSTOPPABLE REPORT: BAYLEY AND CHARLOTTE VERSUS DANA BROOKE AND EMMA". PWInsider. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  33. ↑ Scherer, Dave (August 22, 2015). "Ongoing NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn Blog". PWInsider. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  34. ↑ KELLER’S NXT TV REVIEW 10/12: Blake vs. Murphy interrupted by a frothing Samoa Joe wanting either Nakamura or his title, Dusty Tag Tourney with Glorious 10
  35. ↑ http://www.wwe.com/shows/wwenxt/2017-05-24/article/drew-mcintyre-vs-wesley-blake
  36. 1 2 "The Complete WWE 2K16 Wrestler Roster". Gamespot. September 15, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  37. ↑ "WWE 2K17 Roster". IGN. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  38. ↑ Mooneyham, Mike. "Local wrestler Pete Kaasa keeping the dream alive". The Post and Courier. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  39. ↑ "District 28-4A Preview". Texas HS Football. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  40. ↑ Johnson, Mike (April 18, 2012). "!Bang! updates". pwinsiderxtra.com. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  41. ↑ https://twitter.com/selfsuccess01/status/782624399488942080
  42. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2015". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
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